By REBECCA DIXON

Last updated 13:32, Thursday, 17 July 2008

PLAYTIME was the order of the day for pupils at Whitley Chapel First School when a group of foreign exchange teachers visited.

The teachers were on the return leg of a Comenius exchange which Whitley Chapel teacher, Jackie Hughes, took part in in May.

The scheme, which is run by the British Council, links schools around Europe, helping introduce and strengthen European elements of a school’s curriculum.

The theme for this exchange was “Let’s Play” and the foreign exchange teachers spent a day teaching games from their various cultures to the Whitley Chapel pupils.

The teachers were drawn from France, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland, with Gabriel O’Kane from Glendermott Primary School in Derry, running a session on marble games.

This came under the “games from the past” section of the project that looks at games our parents and grandparents might have played.

Gabriel said: “The project looks at the fun aspect of games as well as the educational element, developing a child’s different skills through a game that is fun and immediate for the child.”

Other activities included a singing game with the French teachers where the children got to practice their French language skills.

Teacher from the Ecole Voltaire in Grenoble, Brigitte Dangleant said: “We found that many of the games from our French ancestors are the same as those from other nationalities, or have a similar equivalent.”

The teachers also visited some of the region’s tourist attractions including Hadrian’s Wall and Bamburgh Castle.

Closer to home the Whitley Chapel pupils took the teachers on a nature walk around the school.